The Sarah Jane Adventures Audio Collection

By: Justin Richards, Stephen Cole, Peter Anghelides, Gary Russell, Scott Handcock, Jason Arnopp, Cavan Scott, Mark Wright, Martin Day

Narrated by: Elisabeth Sladen, Daniel Anthony, Anjli Mohindra

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

10 thrilling adventures for Sarah Jane and her friends, as seen on TV, read by Elisabeth Sladen, Daniel Anthony and Anjli Mohindra.

Sarah Jane Smith always finds herself in trouble. As an old friend of the Doctor she's used to encountering aliens, battling monsters and defeating evil. Along with her friends Luke, Clyde, Rani, Maria and Sky - not to mention supercomputer Mr Smith - Sarah Jane and her trusty lipstick are prepared for anything the universe throws at them.

In these amazing stories, Sarah Jane finds herself investigating a private health clinic, a mysterious stone circle, some lethal alien artefacts, a strange Victorian house and a bizarre hill-carving. Then there's the camping trip that sees the friends stranded in Snowdonia, the deadly computer virus, the terrifying creatures from a world of nightmares, the steam-powered robot, and the race of aliens who think Sarah Jane is a dangerous law-breaker....

Specially written for audio, eight of the stories are read by Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane), one by Daniel Anthony (Clyde) and one by Anjli Mohindra (Rani).

©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

the narrators are outstanding.

I'm so happy I got this collection. I wish BBC America would have shown more of Sarah Jane Smith Adventures but this will do.

Enjoyable time with Elizabeth Slayden

Some of the stories were better than others
Reading fine
As a fan of Elizabeth Slayden it was enjoyable to spend time with her
Her genuine goodness radiates through and she made the world a better place
I wish she had not been taken from us too soon
And I wish she could have read her autobiography through audible
I will probably listen to these stories again in years to come just to spend time with a lovely person

The Perfect Companion To The Television Series

This collection of ten Sarah Jane Adventures stories were originally available separately here on Audible and I had been tempted to try one out, but I stumbled upon the fact that all ten short stories were going to become available as a collection, so this is what I purchased. I came very late to the Sarah Jane Adventures, having first saw her adventures as the Doctors assistant in the 70's when Elisabeth Sladen partnered with the brilliant Tom Baker in what must be perhaps the most fondly remembered duo in the Doctor Who universe, well, it was, and still is, for me! At the time the Sarah Jane Adventures was contemporary (2006 - 2010) it wasn't even on my radar. I was in my forties by then and I can't even recall hearing of this show. Then, by accident somewhere around that time frame, I saw David Tenant in the episode School Reunion and there she was! My Sarah Jane! I was, like many, astonished how little she had aged! There she was, the Sarah Jane I had so fondly remembered. That same Sarah Jane I saw in her final moment as the Doctor's companion wearing that ever so famous Andy Pandy romper suit as was captured in that classic final freeze frame in her swan song episode, The Hand of Fear, way back in 1976. Anyway, seeing her in School Reunion was a real nostalgia twinge for me, but it seemed that her come back was a one off at the time. She disappeared off into the sunset with K-9, I thought never to be seen again. Little did I know at the time, my Sarah Jane would make a real come back in her own series, a series that was popular and well received by critics.

Fast forward to last year and I picked up Sladen's autobiography and found myself once more captured by the role of Sarah Jane in her new adventures. I immediately purchased the entire series on DVD, watched it and this led me on to this further set of stories in audio form.

First off, as you might tell, I am perhaps rather older than the target audience for these stories. Yes, the Sarah Jane Adventures was squarely aimed at a younger audience. However, the quality of the stories meant that they could be enjoyed by those of all ages. These episodes were produced during a time in the BBC where their politics didn't come into it and were just entertaining stories with an interesting cast of characters and best of all, Sarah Jane was at the centre of it all!

So, after my lengthy preamble, what did I think of this collection? In short, excellent! Each writer has managed to capture perfectly the feel of the television show. Each character has all the traits we came to know and love on screen and I felt as if all these audio stories would have made perfect television episodes, had the series not been cut tragically short by Sladen's death in 2011.

Best of all, SLaden herself narrates all but two of these stories. Having said that, the other two are ably and most welcomely narrated by her co stars, Daniel Anthony AKA Clyde and Anjli Mohindra AKA Rani.

For those who want more of Sarah Jane Smith and may not be aware, Big Finish Productions have a catalogue of her post Doctor and pre Sarah Jane adventures stories in the form of approximately one hour radio plays that follow her on her dangerous investigative reporter adventures, played by Lis herself. It's a shame Audible do not offer this catalogue in some cross licencing arrangement, but you can obtain them cheaply fromBig Finish as digital downloads.

So, if you enjoyed the Sarah Jane Adventures on television, you'll love this collection of entertaining and imaginative stories all perfectly in character with the show.

Chapters and details wrong

While readings are of course great, trying to navigate using Audible is tricky as multiple stories are merged, and some titles are wrong.

I know it’s cheap / good value - but it would be nice to be usable!

Sarah Jane we miss you!

A great mix of stories & so great to hear Elizabeth Sladen once again! Daniel & Anjli narrate their stories so well & their impressions of the others make it fantastic!

Great - Let Down by Audible

Amazing stories with great narration. Sadly audible compiled this terribly and misspells a chapter title.

Poor packaging again by Audible

This is a decent collection of Audios linked to the Dr Who TV spin-off starring the late Lis Sladen, aimed more at the teenage and pre-teen audience than Torchwood or the main Dr Who novels, and excellent value to have in one place for one credit.

Unfortunately, despite the original audios being out for years and a pre-order window of over 4 months, Audible UK have shown their usual haphazard lack of care in the packaging and chapters. The very first story is titled wrongly, for example (it's Glittering Storm, not Stone) and 4 stories are lumped together in one chapter and title in the middle of the collection.

This sloppy lack of care seems to have been a feature since Amazon, with their stack it high sell it cheap approach, took over Audible. Much more care is needed from the company in presenting product in a quality way.

Th Sarah Jayne Adventures

loved every minute of it, brought back great memorys of the series. And being narrated by the late great Elizibeth Sladon it was brilliant. definetly a collectors item.

Excelent

I already be a couple of these books but that didn't distracte from how good the selection was. The storylines were well written and held your attention. It was lovely to hear Elizabeth Sladen as narrator I enjoyed her in Doctor Who and she is greatly missed. This selection of stories is well worth the money☺☺